Authors: Mary Stahl, David Conrad, et al.

Format: Paperback, 212 pages

Publisher: Reed Media Services (September 14, 2007)

ISBN-10: 0979034213

ISBN-13: 978-0979034213



Review by James Pyles

October 2, 2007



This book comes to me in an unusual way. I received an email from the publisher and editor asking if I'd be willing to review BIND 9 DNS Administration Reference Book. Ok, that's not unusual. In fact, it happens to me all the time. What is unusual is that I'd never heard of Reed Media Services before. One reason is that they seem to be a smaller publishing house that was originally started to 'print newsletter publishing, online publishing (including related software design), and providing related internet hosting services'. The other reason is that they've only produced two books thus far (The OpenBSD PF Packet Filter Book is the other one).



The other chief element that makes this book unique is that it doesn't have a distinct set of authors. Sure, Mary Stahl, David Conrad, et al are credited, but who's 'et al'? After all, on the cover, Jeremy C. Reed is credited as Editor but no other names appear. Going to the Preface, the explanation is made clear: 'This book is based on documentation that is included in the BIND source code, including ISC's BIND 9 Administrator Reference Manual...The editor for this printed book (Reed) provided hundreds of improvements to ISC which were integrated into the original documentation...'. The copyright information is too lengthy to go into but the bottom line is that this book is largely compiled from a wide variety of official sources, bringing everything together between two covers.



What does that mean and why should you get this book? What it seems to mean is that, while there isn't a lot of new or unique information contained in text (barring Reed's providing 'hundreds of improvements to ISC which were integrated into the original documentation'), you don't have to search long and hard on the web, trying to find all of the original sources that are likely scattered across dozens of websites. Reed provides you with a single hardcopy source for all of that data.



I was a little worried that with copyright data going back to 1993, at least some of the information would be dated but that doesn't appear to be the case. The latest versions (as of the book's writing) of operating system and application software is included here. However, don't expect an 'everything you wanted to know' type of book. It reads very much like traditional online documentation and is very 'matter of fact' in its presentation. It's called a 'Reference Manual' for a good reason and while there are some introductory pieces of information, presumes you already know something about the subject.



As I continued to move through the pages, I got the distinct feeling that I was reading man pages which makes sense if the book is based on the original BIND documentation. If you are at all familiar with UNIX and Linux, then you are familiar with man (manual) pages. They provide all the key pieces of information about a program but often, very little else. They are either the spotlight on exactly what you need or the source of maddening omissions where you need to search other sources to fill in the gaps.



My use of the word "gaps" doesn't mean the book is incomplete. For a reference manual, it seems to hit all the high points and more. What I mean is what I said before; this is the type of book that you refer to when you are trying to figure out a particular problem, not the sort of book you pick up if you are trying to learn BIND administration or have never heard of BIND and DNS. If you read this book and experience "gaps", you might want to pick up a copy of O'Reilly's DNS and BIND or Pro DNS and BIND by Apress first. Once you have a handle on BIND administration in particular and DNS in general, you'll find Reed's BIND 9 DNS Administration Reference Book a great compilation of information on BIND 9 and a great companion for anyone administering BIND 9.

Title: BIND 9 DNS Administration Reference Book
Category: Networking
Sub-Category: Networking Books
Author: James Pyles
Added: October 2nd 2007
Viewed: 12155 Times
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